The biggest challenges were:

How do we change the apparently harmless behaviour of taking long, hot showers?

And how do we reach people while they’re in the shower?

The key objectives: reduce the average shower time in the Netherlands from 8.1 to 5 minutes and create awareness about the relationship between using warm water and the environment.

The heart of the campaign is a unique school programme that educates and co-creates with children who design their own label for a shower product with a message for their parents to take shorter showers.

Through the channels of the WWF and Dutch Royal Princess Laurentien van Oranje-Nassau (Missing Chapter Foundation) we approached 40 elementary schools to start with.

Many teachers and school management teams reacted positively and implemented the programme with enthusiasm.

To preserve behavioural change in the longer run, fun measurement tools (including a timetable booklet and a fun mobile stopwatch app) help keep track of shower times.

The data can be downloaded by teachers to follow up in class.

All campaign components come together in an online platform, where even children who aren’t taking part at school can make their own labels.

And next year, supermarkets will start stocking the best bottles.

In 3 months’ time more than 7,500 unique bottles were made.

This means more than 7,500 reminders in showers that remind people to turn off the tap on time.

More and more schools sign up for the WaterSavers movement every day.

Other European countries (i.e. Germany) are interested in implementing the campaign.

Supermarkets are interested in putting the best bottles on store shelves in 2014.

80% of the participating families review the campaign as positive and relevant.

But most importantly:

More than 60% of the participating families now take shorter showers.